


A Runaway King

by LogicalPanic



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: BAMF Wilbur Soot, Eret Needs A Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Eret-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, Ghostbur appears childish and cute at first but dw dw hes a baddass, Isolation, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Running Away, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:15:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28881558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LogicalPanic/pseuds/LogicalPanic
Summary: "I'm just thinking about the past, Ghostbur, I'm sorry. You didn't do anything, it's just my brain being a little cruel to me today."Ghostbur gasped, like he was offended. "Tell your brain to stop, then!"Eret couldn't tell if that was a joke, so they laughed anyways and cleared their tears. "I wish I could, Ghostbur."Ghostbur looked sad again, and Eret was about to flip their words when the Ghost lightly grabbed Eret's face, hands chilling them. "Then i'll do it for you. Bad Eret's brain! You be nice to him right now!"Eret's laugh was genuine this time.----Eret hadn't meant to run from their problems- but they couldn't go back. Not now.They couldn't do anything but pray Ghostbur didn't rat them out to a country that wanted them dead.Damn. This was just supposed to be an innocent little break. A small adventure.
Relationships: Eret & Wilbur Soot
Comments: 8
Kudos: 277





	A Runaway King

The snow crunched a little under Eret's boots.

It was cold, almost burningly so. It seemed into the air around them, only disturbed by the warmth of their breath, crating soft clouds as they trudged through. They were lucky to have their cape at the very least, with its furry lining, but the cold still leeches into their skin through their dress shirt and pants. They hadn't prepared for the weather.

In fact, they hadn't prepared at all. They had left the castle in a fit that morning, grabbing nothing but a small bag of resources and their tools. They hadn't thought about warmth or materials. They had even left their communicator.

The feeling it gave them was  so  worth it, though. The feeling of being free from any admin tracking without their communicator, of being free from all control, at least for a little while. For the time being, they were just Eret, a wandering player. Not the king or the traitor. Not a pawn in Dream's game.

They trudged further, breathing out a little rumbling laugh as they watched a fox dart across their path, happily making its way to its den with a chunk of chicken in its mouth.

It was kind of lonely out here, though. They had been traveling for about a day- disappearing into the Nether and then into a random portal and direction. They weren't entirely sure where they were or where they were going, but.. that was fine, wasn't it? They didn't need to. For now, they'd simply be free.

Their glasses fogged, so they pushed them up. Their crown weighed down their head an uncomfortable amount, so they tucked it into their bag.

It would be a minor exploration before they returned home and to business. Only about a week, maybe? Just to gather some treasure, maybe. Maybe they could take a stop at a village or a mansion, Eret had thought has they gathered their things together. Convincing themselves it was worth it.

Though, all these thoughts came to a stop when the course of their day changed- all in a instant.

"Are you cold?"

Eret jolted, turning his head to look at whoever had spoken- a tad surprised to find the local ghost of l'manburg following him.

"Ghostbur? Did you follow me all the way out here? It's all snowy, wont you melt?" Eret murmured question after question, worry melting away the cold for a moment before a chill got blown down their spine, sending them shivering.

"I didn't follow you, I just found you- you  are cold! Cmon Eret, go back to your castle before you freeze!" The ghost put an equally freezing hand on their shoulders and pushed a tad. It didn't do much, afterall ghostbur's physical effects were minimal. But it made Eret stumble, more out of surprise than anything.

"No no, its fine Wilbur-"

"Ghostbur!"

"It's fine, Ghostbur, I'm a little cold but I'm heading towards a warmer area now." I think.

Ghostbur looked sad for a moment, tilting his head and linking his fingers together. It reminded Eret for a moment of the past- before the first revolution- when Wilbur was going to play a song for them all. The nervous way he linked his hands before Eret handed him his guitar, with the curious eyes of Tubbo and Tommy on him- Jack Manifold and Niki sitting off curiously. Everything had been so bright, so happy.

"Why are you leaving?"

Sometimes Eret despises being able to remember that. He didn't want to remember that he was the one who ruined it all.

"I'm not running away, if that's what you're thinking. I'm going on an adventure!"

Ghostbur lit up and Eret chuckled lowly.

"Can I come?"

"I don't see why not!" He wasn't sure why the ghost would want to, but he didn't dare turn down company. Not from Wilbur.

Ghostbur cheered, his feet leaving the ground for a moment as he floated, little wings fluttering. Eret covered her mouth a little as she laughed.

"Well come on then, we need to keep going south."

________

"Hey Ghostbur?"

"Yes Eret?"

"Why did you want to tag along?"

Ghostbur stopped floating for a moment, his ghostly eyes turning to stare at the king who climbed the mountain after him, their backpack bouncing as they sighed and sat down on a ledge.

"I don't know. I just wanted to! You seem  lonely and I know what that's like! And I also just don't remember you much, and I want to, so..!"

Eret flinched a little at being called out, looking away. They didn't like that. They didn't think they deserved to feel so alone when they had made the decisions that put them there.

They flicked their glasses down, thoughts flooding their head. Thoughts of their castle- the huge, empty building they had built for themselves. A castle they barely lived in, when they had the choice. The empty, aching feeling they got spending weeks on end in it. The endless rooms and rooms and nobody occupying them.

When Hbomb had asked for a place to stay, Eret thinks they almost had a heart attack- instantly showing him to a room. It had taken only a week for HBomb to trash it- paintings and games and various other shit laying around freely- but Eret wouldn't want anything else. It was all of a sudden the place didn't seem so empty anymore- and when they employed their knights. That was the first time they didn't feel all alone.

And then it was over. The happiness faded away as suddenly Dream wanted him on his side again. Wanted to know him and talk to him, then everyone avoided him. The whispers of 'traitor' floating around L'Manburg once more.

And now L'manburg was gone. 

And Eret regrets their betrayal even more, hearing it on the lips of everyone around them.

On Wilburs, as Eret learns that had been his last words.

On Nikis, as she set the tree up in flames.

On Quackity and Fundy as the two promptly give up on a country they had loved.

And all Eret felt was alone. The oncoming breakdown as they realized, truly, what their betrayal had really done. Doomed an entire country- an entire server, practically, to a never ending violent hellscape. That their line had shaken Wilbur so much it had affected their history time and time again.

Maybe.. Maybe that's what this adventure was. An escape from all that.

A shiver racked through them suddenly and they winced. It was freezing. Their fingers hurt.

"Eret? Did I upset you? I'm very sorry if I did. I'm very forgetful, so sometimes I forget what makes people upset… and I don't really remember you at all, so…"

Eret sighed, swallowing away the lump in their throat as their eyes burned. "That's alright, don't worry about it. I was… a bad guy. It's okay that you don't remember me."

"But I upset you." Ghostbur floated in front of them, hands hovering around their shoulders. "What did I do? You're crying."

"I'm..?"

I'm crying?

They reached a hand up and found their cheeks wet, sighing. They raised their arm up and wiped the tears away, before flipping their glasses back down onto their nose.

"I'm just thinking about the past, Ghostbur, I'm sorry. You didn't do anything, it's just my brain being a little cruel to me today."

Ghostbur gasped, like he was offended. "Tell your brain to stop, then!"

Eret couldn't tell if that was a joke, so they laughed anyways and cleared their tears. "I wish I could, Ghostbur."

Ghostbur looked sad again, and Eret was about to flip their words when the Ghost lightly grabbed Eret's face, hands chilling them. "Then i'll do it for you. Bad Eret's brain! You be nice to him right now!"

Eret's laugh was genuine this time.

______

  
  


"Lookie, a village!" 

Eret looked up from his spot, chopping down spruce trees around the clearing they had found. He had been planning on making a campsite for the night for him and the ghost, but it seems he wouldn't need to.

"Oh?"

Eret clasped his axe onto his pack, turning and walking over to the ledge Ghostbur was floating over. He peered where the transparent hand pointed, clear eyes widening a little. "Hey! Good catch, Ghostbur!" He grinned, leaning over the edge. 

There was a buzz, dragging both their attention to Ghostbur's communicator. It was a small box with a screen, that was all.

"Oh, Eret. They're looking for you." Ghostbur murmurs lightly.

Eret blinks, raising an eyebrow before frowning. "Oh, right. I left my communicator at home. I didn't expect to be gone so long, so.." It was almost two days, this was fine! People forgot their communicators all the time at home. Maybe not  two days  long without going back for it or asking the world builders- administrators(?)- to help them out and phase it to them.

"That's alright! Here." Ghostbur tilted the screen towards him. Eret peered over, the confusion melting into anxiety.

<Dream> does anyone know where Eret is?

<Punz> no

<Tommyinnit> why would I tell u even if I did

<JackManifoldTV> haven't seen them

"Here Ghostbur, don't worry about it. Just ignore them for a little, alright?" Eret suddenly murmured.

The ghost looked up, a little startled. "What? They're worried about you, aren't they?"

"No, not really. I just.. don't want to talk to Dream for a bit." Eret gave a strained grin. "Anyways, about that Village!"

Ghostbur hesitated before smiling and brushing the topic off. He seemed to respect Eret's wishes.

"Yeah!"

_____

The village was… sad, to say the least.

Eret frowned as he led the way through it, eyebrows creasing at the cobwebs and broken homes. The small amount of villagers still around darted into their hones immediately, peering at the player and ghost through their windows.

"This place looks awful, what happened?" Eret murmured, concern lacing their words. 

Ghostbur floated close at their side, clutching little white flowers in his grip. "Oh, this place needs a  lot  of blue…" Eret nodded, letting Ghostbur continue, making his way to the doorways- leaving little sacs of blue on their steps.

"The damages are pretty minor. I don't doubt I might be able to fix this place up given… a week or so." Eret murmured lightly, before smiling sadly. They knelt.

At their feet was a small book- a children's book. It was written in the villagers' language, they couldn't read it. They softly moved it so it wasn't in the center of the road and instead laying on the steps of what seemed to be a library.

He shuddered at the eyes on him. He could feel them from every window.

"Okay Ghostbur, maybe this isn't the best place to settle for the night. Want to head back up to the clearing or con...tinue…" Eret's speech stopped as a Villager slowly exited their home, heading right for him.

He turned to them, feeling suddenly very odd. The villagers was small and thin- a rather older person, with creases on the edge of their eyes and forehead. They smiled kindly as they approached him and his ghost friend.

"Hello there, stranger." A gravely voice spoke in trader- making Eret pause for a moment. It had been a while since he had spoken to the villagers- aside from the ones that lived in L'manberg. But the accents between the L'Manberg villagers and these was very different, so it took a moment.

"Hello!" He answered after a moment, adjusting. Every player had the ability to speak Trader, but not fluently. That was something to be learned and cherished. 

Ghostbur floated forwards, resting his hands on Eret's shoulder to peer at the villager.

"I am Gkeric. I am the Librarian here, and in sorts… this village's temporary leader." He spoke, motioning around to the beaten paths and homes. "May I ask what a player and a ghost would be doing with our little city?"

Eret hummed, lightly placing their hands in their pants pockets. "We were just traveling when we stumbled across this place. We're from the Dream Smp."

Gkeric raised his eyebrows. "Thats quite a bit aways."

"Yeah, it is. Me and Eret are on an adventure! Like a vacation!" Ghostbur chirped in. His trader was a little stilted, but it made Gkeric smile sadly.

"We're pleased to have you. Unfortunately we're in a bit of… disarray at the moment. We got raided a few weeks back and still haven't repaired ourself..." The librarian explained. "We don't have much to offer."

"I do." Eret nodded. "If I'm allowed to do so.. may I lend a hand?"

Ghostbur perked up. "Yeah!! We can help!"

Eret smiled. Gkeric frowned for a long moment, and he didn't blame the man. Players had a long history of being cruel and unruly to villager lives. Abduction and forced moving, village raids… Even Eret himself had been apart of quite a bit of arson with passing villages. But it was a project to work on. It was something new. 

It was an escape, admittedly. It was something to take his mind off the horrors at home.

"We could make this place even better than before! Me and Eret are great builders! You should see his castle! O-Or my crane! Well my crane was blown up but…"

"I used to build these magnificent walls for a rising nation," Eret told the librarian. Ghostbur went a bit quiet for a moment.. "Id consider myself pretty capable, if you would have me."

Gkeric sighed before smiling warmly. 

"Welcome, my friends. You may work if you so wish! In fact, it would be lovely."

_______

  
  


It was two days before Ghostbur started getting antsy. 

"I'm gonna go back to L'manburg for a little while, okay?" He murmured nervously, floating around Eret- who was working on a brand new house. The king had spent hours non-stop working since he had been given the go- having already repaired all the homes he could, had moved into building new one. The villagers were lively once more, occasionally coming over to have brief conversations with either the ghost or the king. 

Eret paused his building, leaning back and looking over. "Oh? Do you want me to build a nether portal for you so its easier?"

Ghostbur nodded a little, floating closer. "Yeah I just.. I miss it a little. Don't you?"

Eret paused. Ghostbur winced as he realized he probably made a mistake. He waited for a moment before Eret slowly inhaled and sighed. He smiled warmly and Ghostbur relaxed. "I do, but I'm not ready to end my vacation yet, Ghostbur. Do you have a compass or something to help get you home?"

"I have co-ordinates to the portal from the nether roof! So I can go through the nether, no worries!"

______

Ghostbur winced as he floated over the nether roof. It was impossibly hot up here,, as it always was in the nether. It was borderline suffocating, actually.

It took an hour, maybe more, before Ghostbur recognized their placements. The nether was always faster to travel to- since time worked differently in the two worlds. It was.. horrific how many stories he had heard from the smp members about people who got stuck in the nether for months, only to exit and find they hadn't been gone more then a few weeks.

There was also rarely good food. You couldn't survive long in the nether unless you came prepared- or were a nether hybrid. 

He entered their home portal, eyes closed, and shivered as the cool autumn air hit him hard. Eret had gone quite a bit away from the smp, even through nether travel.

"Ghostbur?" A voice called out. Ghostbur jolted, looking over at the voice, grinning as he found it was Puffy.

"Hello! I'm take a break from the break!"

"What break?" The sheep hybrid tilted her head, ears shifting down a little. "And where have you been?"

"With Eret! On a adventure!"

Puffy dropped the bucket she had been holding.

"Eret? Are they okay?!" She stepped forwards, hands worriedly racing to play with her hoodie strings. "They haven't been answering their communicator."

Ghostbur laughed brightly, moving to pat her head. "He's okay! He's helping a village rebuild right now, he must have forgotten it when he went on his mini vacation. I'll bring it to him when I go back!"

Puffy sighed in relief. "Aha, sorry. I suppose I got nervous. Dream figured out they had left a little ago and has been looking for them so I just got.. nervous."

Ghostbur nodded. "That's okay-! He's 100% a-okay! We've been talking alot and he told me all about how much he loves the smp, despite all the wars and things I don't really care for! He's very kind."

Puffy smiled warmly. "He is. I wish he had taken one of us knights, though."

Ghostbur shrugged. "He didn't mean to drag me along to be honest. I think he wanted to be alone. Which is okay! He's alone for now so he can relax."

Puffy nodded slowly. "That's... good."

"Ghostbur! Just the man I was looking for."

Ghostbur and Puffy froze, turning to see a masked man land on the portal, peering down at them.

"Would you happen to know where Eret is?"

"No, no clue Dream!" Ghostbur smiled happily, nerves bundling in his gut. "Why?"

He adjusted his mask. For a moment, Ghostbur thought Dream was almost upset.

"If you haven't seen him don't worry about it."

And he was gone again.

Ghostbur had a bad feeling about this.


End file.
